abcnovels
Chapter 463 464-The Slave Market
Chapter 463 464-The Slave Market
Chapter 463 464-The Slave Market
??Jelia turned to leave; she needed to pack her belongings.
Although she didn't have much, she was now on her own.
The only person who would have helped her unconditionally had left her behind.
She needed to find him and ask him why face to face.
Could death really sever the promises between them?
Watching Jelia's small figure, Antalya opened her mouth as if to say something but ultimately remained silent, merely sighing.
"Innkeeper, I suggest you check on Vivia," Antalya advised.
"I saw her passing by earlier."
Startled for a moment, Antalya sighed again.
While their reasons for action were not wrong, not all correct decisions lead to the right outcomes.
Quite the opposite, in many cases, it's the wrong decisions that pave the way to the right results.
Perhaps due to the lack of industrial pollution, the night sky in Breeze City was much more beautiful.
Specks of stars scattered like radiant jewels upon the ink-blue fabric of the sky.
The gentle drift of faint clouds added a touch of hazy beauty, as if veiling a beauty behind sheer silk.
A crescent moon, akin to a sliver of white jade, hung high, hidden behind the clouds, resembling a pool of autumn water or perhaps a slice of a gaze.
...
Sitting in the courtyard, slightly chilled, Howard looked up at the night sky, taking a deep breath.
The surroundings were very quiet, with only faint human voices in the distance and the hidden chirping of insects in the corners.
Nula had already gone to sleep, and White seemed sleepy too, but Howard felt not the slightest hint of drowsiness.
He was under a heavy pressure.
As the stars shifted gradually with the passage of time, Howard's thoughts drifted bit by bit.
In the silent transition, a faint whiteness appeared on the horizon, and it was only then that Howard realized dawn had broken.
He had sat in the courtyard the entire night.
Such silent vigil might seem dull, but seeing his clothes damp with dew, Howard couldn't help but smile.
He finally understood what he needed to do.
If initially, he was driven purely by the instinct to survive, now, survival had become a secondary goal for him.
He needed to figure out exactly what was inside him.
No matter how grand the tales spun by the deity behind Nula, Howard found them hard to believe.
Had it not been for Nula leveraging the lives of Jelia and the others, Howard would have never accepted their quest.
Centering himself, Howard pushed aside his tangled thoughts.
After changing into dry clothes in his small room, he stepped back into the courtyard to find Nula already awake, stretching her limbs, and White sauntering out from its room.
Seeing Howard, Nula wore a light smile.
"How did you sleep last night? Starting tomorrow, you're on your own."
"It's not the first time," Howard replied as he methodically donned his gear and slung his sword back on, placing the guiding crystal in a pouch on his belt for easy access.
"When do we leave, and what's our mode of transportation?"
"A means of transport you've undoubtedly heard of many times but have never experienced!"
Nula's face bore a secretive smile, stirring unease in the pit of Howard's stomach.
...
In the western outskirts of Breeze City, observing the various restless animals in the pens due to the bustling crowd, Howard found the word "surprised" insufficient to describe his emotions.
Here, he saw orcs.
Not even as slaves, but segregated into different pens based on their races, with nothing but the most rudimentary loincloths for cover.
"More primitive than you imagined?" Nula noticed Howard's expression.
"I hadn't lacked imagination about the treatment of orcs, but I truly didn't expect it to be like this. I've even seen orcs in the tavern," Howard slowed his breathing to control his emotions, shifting his gaze away from those crowded orcs, "I'm now very glad I brought Jelia back from Lorinda."
"If you want to change this situation, then let's work hard to complete our quest. This world does have gods, after all."
Nula led Howard away from the orc pens.
"You have to understand, this world is never as simple as you think."
Navigating through the dense crowd and rejecting countless offers from livestock and slave traders, Nula finally brought Howard to their ultimate destination.
A massive tent stood on an open field, surrounded by a sparse crowd.
"This is?"
Looking at the flamboyant giant tent, Howard was reminded of circus tents, and this one before him was just like those.
Ribbons and flags were the most common decorations, with the huge tent covered in crisscrossing patches of color.
"Feral Beast Brigade, the largest slave trader, spellbeast merchant, and circus in Silverwind Kingdom."
A circus?
Howard looked at Nula in astonishment, wondering if he had misheard: "You're saying, this tent, this Feral Beast Brigade, is also a circus?"
"That's right," Nula nodded.
"What's most abundant in a circus? Lions, tigers, and slaves, of course. What, did you expect clowns? Don't apply the common sense of your world here."
"Let's go, our mode of transportation is inside."
With that, Nula confidently headed towards the tent.
Howard paused briefly before following.
As he stepped through a side entrance into the tent, Howard immediately noticed the stark difference between the Feral Beast Brigade and the slave and livestock traders outside.
Every wild beast and livestock were individually caged, with no orcs in sight, replaced instead by some common spellbeasts.
These were feats ordinary slave traders couldn't achieve.
Observing the lions, tigers, monkeys, and leopards caged up, Howard inquired, "Are all these for sale?"
"Do you have any specific requirements, or are you dissatisfied with the quality of our goods here? We have better merchandise, feel free to take your pick!"
The reply came not from Nula but from an unfamiliar male voice.
Following the direction of the voice, Howard saw a rotund middle-aged man dressed as a clown smiling behind them, holding a large bunch of keys.
Howard was surprised he hadn't noticed him before.
Facing the beaming middle-aged man, Howard was internally shocked but kept his expression unchanged.
"And you are?"
"The ringmaster of the Feral Beast Brigade, Amriel Jack, at your service. I make my living off this less than honorable trade. Might I interest you in our offerings?"
The middle-aged man took off the comical hat from his head, lifting the large bunch of keys in his hand and giving them a shake.
The metallic keys clashed against each other, emitting a crisp sound.
Undoubtedly, those keys belonged to the beast pens.
If each key corresponded to a pen or cage, then the assets of the man before Howard might far exceed his imagination.
The cheapest livestock on the market goes for thirty to fifty gold coins each, slaves are even more expensive, not to mention he also deals in spellbeasts.
"Jack, save your trickery, I'm the one bringing the client this time!"
Nula, noticing Amriel's appearance, scoffed coldly, interrupting the exchange between Amriel and Howard.
"Miss Nula! You've come yourself this time! What an honor, truly, truly an honor!"
The moment Amriel laid eyes on Nula, it was as if he saw a walking mountain of gold coins.
His eyes nearly sparkled with gold, his smile warm as sunlight, yet the coldness in his gaze deepened.
"Cut the crap, do you have any good chocobos left? Bring them out for me to see!"
Nula remained unmoved by Amriel's enthusiasm, getting straight to the point.
"Don't think about making money off me this time. Last time, the fool under me got swindled by you, and that's on them. But if you dare try anything on me, you're dead!"
The middle-aged man's expression soured, "Lady Nula, that's not fair! Business is all about skill. If your subordinate lacked discernment, that's on them. How can you blame me? I never claimed it was top-tier merchandise!"
"Hah, you didn't say it was top-tier, but you also didn't mention it was inferior quality! You might not have explicitly passed it off as better than it was, but you sure know how to play with words!"
Nula seemed to be amused by the middle-aged man's antics, stepping past Howard to stand in front of Amriel.
"Bring out the good stuff, conduct your business honestly, and I won't mess with you. Otherwise, just wait for the day your shop gets trashed by someone!"
This was an outright threat.
Howard wiped the non-existent sweat from his brow, truly not expecting Nula to conduct business so fiercely.
It was supposed to be a straightforward transaction, but it looked more like Nula was conducting a robbery.
Amriel chuckled, "Lady Nula, please, just a moment, just a moment. I'll bring you the quality goods right away! I assure you, you'll get exactly what you pay for!"
With that, he turned and disappeared down a path between the pens.
Once Amriel had left, Nula turned back to Howard and said, "Don't be too polite with that man! The nicer you are, the more he'll take advantage of you!"
Howard was speechless.